Changes in hospitalisation rates in older people before and after moving to a retirement village

Abstract

AbstractObjectivesAn increasing proportion of older people live in Retirement Villages (‘villages’). This population cites support for health‐care issues as one reason for relocation to villages. Here, we examine whether relocation to villages is associated with a decline in hospitalisations.MethodsRetrospective, before‐and‐after observational study. Setting: Retirement villages, Auckland, New Zealand. Participants: 466 cognitively intact village residents (336 [72%] female); mean (SD) age at moving to village was 73.9 (7.7) years. Segmented linear regression analysis of an interrupted time‐series design was used. Main outcome measures: all hospitalisations for 18 months pre‐ and postrelocation to village. Secondary outcome: acute hospitalisations during the same time periods.ResultsThe average hospitalisation rate (per 100 person‐years) was 44.9 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 36.3–55.6) 18–10 months before village relocation, 58.9 (95% CI = 48.3–72.0) 9–1 months before moving, 47.9 (95% CI = 38.8–59.1) 1–9 months after moving and 62.4 (95% CI = 51.2–76.0) 10–18 months after moving. Monthly average hospitalisation rate (per 100 person‐years) increased before relocation to village by an average of 1.2 (95% CI = 0.01–1.57, p = .04) per month from 18 to 1 month before moving, and there was a change in the level of the monthly average hospitalisation rate immediately after relocation (mean difference [MD] = −18.4 per 100 person‐years, 95% CI = −32.8 to −4.1, p = .02). The trend change after village relocation did not differ significantly from that before moving.ConclusionsAlthough we cannot reliably claim causality, relocation to a retirement village is, for older people, associated with a significant but non‐sustained reduction in hospitalisation.